Can Fruit Have an Electrical Current?

Broad Question

How will the fruit produce electricity?

Specific Question

How Much Electricity Can Citrus Fruit Produce?

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the lime will have a higher electric current than the other fruit. Then I think the lemon will have the second highest, then the grapefruit, then the orange.


Graph of Hypothesis

Independent Variable: Different Types of Citrus Fruit

Dependent Variable: Amount of Electricity (Volts)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

-Voltage Meter
-Galvanized Nail
-Alligator Clips
-Dial Number-2
-Distance between the copper wire and nail-5cm
-The galvanized nail is 2 cm deep in the fruit-The alligator clip is 7 cm from the fruit on the copper wire-The folded copper wire is 4 cm deep in the fruit-The alligator clip is 5 cm from the fruit on the galvanized nail-Number of Trials-Number of Fruit used for this experiment

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

Potential Problems And Solutions

Finding the correct wires for this experiment may be a problem.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

There are the possibilities that you could cut your self with the nail or wire, and or get zapped by the voltage meter.

Experimental Design

This experiment was testing how much electricity can be produced from citrus fruit. To start off the experiment the fruit must be squeezed to get the juices flowing. Then stick the copper wire and and galvanized nail on opposite sides of the fruit. After that connect the alligator clips to the copper wire and nail, then connect the other end to the voltage meter’s terminals, thus creating electricity. The order to test the fruit should be first the lime then the lemon then the grapefruit then the orange.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Lime	10	Hannaford	10
Lemon	10	Hannaford	10
Grapefruit	10	Hannaford	10
Orange	10	Hannaford	10
Copper Wire	1	JBES	NA
Galvanized Nail	1	JBES	NA
Voltage Meter	1	JBES	NA
Alligator Clips	2	JBES	NA

Detailed Procedure

1.Get materials needed for experiment. The following materials are: 4 different types of citrus fruit ( lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits) the experiment will need ten fruit per trial, one galvanized nail 8.6 centimeters in length (zinc), and one copper wire 36 centimeters in length, then fold the wire in half and twist it so it is now 18 centimeters. A voltage meter, and two wires with alligator clips on each end.

2. The order of the procedure per fruit will be: first the lime then the lemon, then the orange and last the grapefruit.

3.After the materials for this experiment are gathered, take a lime and lightly squeeze it on all sides or roll it on the table, but not hard enough to break the skin. Squeeze the fruit so the juices insides are flowing.

4.Once preparing the fruit is done stick the nail and the folded wire on either sides of the fruit, approximately 5 centimeters apart. The ends of the nails should be in the middle of the fruit, but not touching. Be sure not to have the nail or wire come out the opposite end of the fruit.

5.Take the voltage meter to check the electric currents.

6.Connect one of the voltage meters terminals to the copper nail and attach with a alligator clip.

7.Connect the other voltage meters terminal to the galvanized nail and attach with another alligator clip.

8.The folded copper wire is 4 cm deep in the fruit

9.The alligator clip is 7 cm from the fruit on the copper wire

10.The galvanized nail is 2 cm deep in the fruit

11.The alligator clip is 5 cm from the fruit on the galvanized nail

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

The Apple was also tested to see if other fruit could have an electric current.
Apple-0.953

Graphs

Photos

Grapefruit Connected to the Voltage Meter

Supplies for Experiment

Results


The average for the voltage per citrus fruit was 0.8629. The average for the lime was 0.8505. The average for the lemon was 0.856. The average for the Orange was 0.8646. The average for the grapefruit was 0.8805. The fruit with the highest average was grapefruit with 0.8805 and the lowest average was the lemon with 0.856.

Conclusion

This experiment was designed to test the amount to test the amount of energy generated by different varieties of fruit. The fruit with the highest average was grapefruit with 0.8805 and the lowest average was the lemon with 0.856. The average for the lime was 0.8505. The average for the lemon was 0.856. The average for the Orange was 0.8646. The average for the grapefruit was 0.8805.

Discussion

The experiment question is was, “Does different types of citrus fruit affect the electrical current?”
Yes, the experiment results did answer the experiment questions.
The answer to the experiment question was that the different types of citrus fruit did affect the voltage current. Some of the fruit had a higher electrical current than the other because that fruit’s citric acid had a higher reaction to the galvanized nail.
It is hypothesized that the lime will have the highest amount of voltage measured, then the lemon, then the grapefruit, then the orange. No, the hypothesis was not supported by the results. The fruit with the highest electrical current was the grapefruit and the lowest was the lemon.


The average for the voltage per citrus fruit was 0.8629. The average for the lime was 0.8505. The average for the lemon was 0.856. The average for the Orange was 0.8646. The average for the grapefruit was 0.8805. The fruit with the highest average was grapefruit with 0.8805 and the lowest average was the lemon with 0.856.
The patterns seen within the data is that most of the citrus fruits electrical currents ranges between 0.70 and 0.90. There is a strong cause and effect between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
The results happened the way they did because of the type of fruit that I picked. They all have something in common, they have the same kind of citric acid in them. When the fruit are eaten they all have that same sweet, but almost sour taste. Some of the fruit reacted to the galvanized nail better than others and that’s why the results are different.
There weren’t many challenges or problems except for getting all the fruit for the experiment. There were ten trials and four different types of fruit, that’s a lot of fruit. But it was managed. The design did not change throughout the experiment. If there was anything that could have been done differently it would have been to have the experiment done sooner. The kind of technology needed for this experiment would be the voltage meter.


The knowledge gained during this experiment would be that certain types of fruit can be used for electricity. It also shows how the citric acid in the fruit is what causes the electricity. New questions for the future could be, “If you used more fruit at a time would you gain more electricity? How much?”, Or, “Can you use two different types of fruit at the same time? Will you get more or less electricity?”, “Can you get electricity from different types of fruit, such as grapes or apples or tomatoes or strawberries etc? And could you also get electricity from vegetables?.” In the future people could use fruit for electricity instead of oil and gas, it could cut down on pollution.

Background Research

-The zinc nail is an active metal, which reacts with the acid in the fruit. The active ingredient in the fruit are positively charged ions.

-Citric acid is a compound considered weak and is found in fruits, such as lemons, oranges, grapefruits, and limes
-The citric acid found in lemons and limes is much more plentiful than that of grapefruits and oranges.
-Vitamins, minerals, citric acid, antioxidants-Sour taste
-sweet taste
-Low sugar
-High Sugar
-Provide small amount of several vitamins and minerals

References


Works Cited
"Citric Acid in Lemons." LIVESTRONG.COM. 03 Apr. 2013 <http://www.livestrong.com/article/278808-citric-acid-in-lemons/>.
"Fruit Battery Power." Science Fair Project. 03 Apr. 2013 <http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/ProjectDetail.aspx?ProjectID=154>.
Waverly, Jack S. "Symptoms of Citric Acid Intolerance." EHow. 30 Sept. 2009. Demand Media. 03 Apr. 2013 <http://www.ehow.com/about_5481262_symptoms-citric-acid-intolerance.html>.

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to see if citrus fruit could have an electric current. It was hypothesised that the lime was going to have the highest electric current, then the lemon then the grapefruit, and last the orange. The experiment was conducted with a voltage meter, a galvanized nail, and a copper wire. To check how much electricity each fruit contained the nail and the copper wire would go on opposite sides of the fruit and then connected with an alligator clip to the voltage meter. Results showed that citrus fruit do have an electric current with the grapefruit having the highest amount of electricity and the lemon having the lowest.